The coffee bars along Rua Halfeld and the streets immediately off it are the workday pulse of Juiz de Fora. Brazilians drink coffee frequently and in small doses — a bica (espresso) standing at the counter, a cafezinho with a pão de queijo in the mid-morning — and the city's cafes follow this pattern faithfully. Most places also serve fresh juice and some version of a cheese bread or pastry.
The best of these cafes have little in the way of decor but compensate with reliably good coffee and the particular pleasure of standing at a zinc counter watching the city go by. Prices are low. They tend to close by early evening.